


Stray Close to the Edge

by SunlightOnTheWater



Series: Pathways [10]
Category: Supernatural, The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Childhood Trauma, Dark Sam Winchester, Demon Blood Addiction, Gen, Kidnapping, POV Sam Winchester, Past Child Abuse, Past Torture, Sam 'Boy King of Hell' Winchester, Sam Winchester's Demonic Powers, Young Sam Winchester
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-16
Updated: 2014-09-16
Packaged: 2018-02-17 14:38:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2313101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunlightOnTheWater/pseuds/SunlightOnTheWater
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Kyra is kidnapped, Sam goes a little mad in his efforts to save her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stray Close to the Edge

_Few things were constant in his life anymore. What remained he clung to as best he could, despite the horror some of them created. They anchored him in the storm his world had become and to take one away was to make him more dangerous than anyone could ever imagine._

* * *

It began with Kyra going missing. Sam found the small patch of blood on the corner of her bed when she hadn't emerged from her bedroom that morning to drag him out of what she had fondly begun to call his cave. Hunger had driven him outward and the lack of Kyra had turned his attention towards seeking her out. The smell of sulfur and the patch of blood had been all he'd needed to put together what had happened. Somehow a demon, most likely Meg, had spread the word before their death that Kyra was his weakness and the demons had come to exploit that. For a moment Sam trembled as if caught in a violent storm. Then he stilled, letting ice settle in his heart. He knew precisely what the demons wanted and he could give it to them, though not precisely in the way they desired. By the time the first Necromonger arrived on the scene Sam had gone cold.

He buried himself in the books he had managed to obtain as the others searched, knowing that no one would see his behavior as unusual. Kyra might have noticed the sudden coldness in his demeanor, the strange purpose in his step, but Kyra was gone. He read and scribbled until he had a complete list of everything he needed. Obtaining most of the ingredients would be simple but one part turned his stomach. Long ago Meg had wrapped his fingers around a knife and guided his hand to slit a grown man's throat. The blood had been necessary to speak to her father, the dreaded Azazel, but the result had been Sam trapped in a flashback about killing Lily and the details had been blurred in his mind.

Ordinarily Sam would have cringed from the merest thought of killing anyone to contact a demon, or even away from the mere thought of contacting a demon, but Kyra was in danger. She had saved him and continued to save him every day, acting as his anchor against the ever present nightmares that threatened to swamp him. He owed her his best efforts. He gathered the correct herbs and spices first. Those that worked around the Necromongers might not have known her personally but they found him what he asked for, some with gentle smiles and others with fingers held to their lips in a private plea for him to forget he'd ever seen them. The blood would be more difficult. In fact, it left him at a dead end for a time. Then Dame Vaako made the mistake of attempting to kill him.

* * *

_The nightmares had become a terribly permanent part of his life post-Hell. In Crematoria he had managed to stifle the screams that had struggled to escape, knowing it wasn't safe. But on the ship with Kyra just in the next room he had somehow become safe enough to let them out._

* * *

Falling asleep had become difficult. Kyra had been gone only two days but Sam already felt the tension that came with a ticking time clock. He was tossing restlessly on his bed when the assassins arrived. Both were female and both were women he had seen in conference with commander Vaako's wife numerous times. It was instinct that had him pulling his own blade, a gift from Meg that still made him feel sick to look at directly, from under his pillow and lashing out. The first girl fell back with a startled cry and blood dripping down from her collarbone. The other one moved to circle behind him but Sam was already flowing off the bed like water and dropping toward the ground. The blade swished over his head and Sam flowed upwards again, slicing the second attacker open from belly to throat. Blood poured hot and sticky over his hand but he ignored it, completely focused on the task before him.

The initial attacker had faded into the darkness of the room but Sam forced himself to remain relaxed as he removed the chalice from under the bed, knife still held firmly in hand. He rose warily and felt the barest hint of breath on the back of his neck before he whirled to slice open her throat. Her blood bubbled into the chalice and he dropped the knife to cradle the goblet between two hands. He placed it carefully on the floor and gathered the incense he had put together, placing them carefully in a smouldering circle around the cup. The chant that followed was remarkable only for its simplicity and the blood boiled. Sam watched it coldly, surrounded by sweet smelling smoke and coated by the blood of two dead women. 

After a moment the face of a woman with straight black hair and eyes the color of obsidian appeared in the blood. She appeared curious but when she saw Sam her curiosity changed to triumph. "I wondered how long it would take you to search me out," she told him. "It didn't take as long as I had thought."

"And who exactly are you?" Sam asked coldly. In the time between when he had murdered Lily and been put back on the rack for disobeying and attempting to help Andy escape, Meg had taught him exactly how to behave. The lessons had been held under the assumption that Sam would take Azazel's place at some point as ruler of Hell and they would serve him well now.

"Why should I tell you?" the demon demanded, smirking slightly at him. Sam moved on instinct now, bringing the lights in his room up with just a twitch of his fingers, revealing his blood soaked frame to her view.

"Listen to me very carefully," he told her, his voice sharp as diamond. He knew his time was limited now. There had been Necromongers in and out of their rooms almost constantly and soon enough one of them would notice the lights on in Sam's room or the blood slipping out from under the door. "You will bring Kyra back completely unharmed within the time span of an hour or I will make you wish you had never existed." Then, with a flick of his fingers, he sent the chalice toppling over on its side. It hit the stone tile with a clang and blood dripped out, drawing footsteps to his room.

* * *

_Kyra was the only other true constant in his life. She recognized his twitches before anyone else, listened to his fears, and believed him to be good. She was safety and strength and family and she kept him going when nothing else would._

* * *

Sam whirled, body crouching so he could scoop up the knife, when his door was flung open. The Necromonger in the lead twitched slightly and his hand was moving towards a weapon when someone pulled him back. Sam rose, knife in hand, and was startled to see the muscles in Riddick's back ripple as the con shoved the Necromonger out of the room. Then the convict turned back to Sam, pushing his goggles up to rest on the bald dome of his head. The two studied each other for a moment, Sam trembling slightly. He'd been reacting on instinct, behaving that way that had been forced upon him in the battles in Hell, when the two women had come after him but that instinct was nothing more than a faint whisper now. He had seen the convict in combat before. If Riddick came after him, Sam would be dead in less than a minute.

The con shifted forward a step and Sam inched back, bare feet slipping a little in the blood pooling around his floor. Riddick's head tilted slightly and his hand reached out to dim the lights, leaving Sam shrouded in darkness. He tensed as his eyes struggled to adjust but not even the slightest sense of movement caught his attention. He breathed out slowly, forcing muscles growing tight with tension to relax some, and waited. Judgement would inevitably be passed no matter his protestations and he had learned long ago to simply remain silent and wait.

"You gonna put down the knife?" There was no accusation in the low rumble and Sam felt the cold determination inside his limbs falter for a moment, thrown off by the unexpected. He forced his hand to grip the knife tighter and the amused chuckle made him flinch. The darkness remained and Sam felt his breathing slowly level out instead of being the panicky rasp it had fallen into the instant the lights had flipped off. The sudden darkening of a room could trigger flashbacks sometimes, although Sam had learned in Crematoria to hold them back by sheer force of will.

The hand that suddenly wrapped around his wrist, squeezing until it was painful and his fingers pulled away from the bloody hilt of the knife, startled him. The blade clanged to the floor and Sam flinched violently, biting down on his tongue hard enough to draw blood in an effort to hold in his frightened cry. A hand settled firmly in the middle of his back, guiding him forward. It wasn't exactly gentle but Sam was used to that. He was shoved out into the bright light of the next room and he flinched as hostile eyes settled on him.

"Check the halls now," a harsh voice barked. "You should be searching for any other killers after this disgraceful attempt, not wandering around like children who've lost their nerve." The Necromongers sprang into action as the First among commanders stepped into view. Sam stayed where he was, frozen and suddenly feeling very young. It was like hearing his father bark at Dean to grab the salt all over again. "You, sit down before you fall over." Vaako's voice was softer this time but there was no doubt that what he'd said was an order. 

Sam made his way to the nearest chair on shaking legs and curled up in it, staring at the wall with wide eyes. He heard the soft murmur of Vaako's voice, then the low rumble of Riddick before the commander came to crouch in front of him. "Who sent the women after you?"

Sam forced himself to meet the commander's eyes, fought to keep his voice steady. "We both know who did." Vaako nodded once but didn't move.

"What about Kyra?"

"She's gone right now," Sam said distantly, staring past Vaako's shoulder. "But she'll be back. Soon."

* * *

_He'd done a lot of terrible things in his life, let a lot of people down. He regretted each and every mistake, so by the time he'd met Kyra he'd resolved never to get close to anyone again. He'd thought she would just be an ally, someone to watch his back, but he'd grown attached. Somewhere along the line she'd slipped under his defenses. At some point in time she'd made him care about her._

* * *

The demon didn't bring Kyra back but it didn't matter. Sam had given her fair warning. He no longer had to play nice. It had been a couple years since Sam had tapped into the more energy consuming gifts Azazel's blood had given him, and he'd never done it without the demon blood, but three nights worth of dreaming of Kyra facing the same tortures on the rack that he had motivated him. He sat in Kyra's room, unwilling to return to his with the blood still staining it in his memory, and closed his eyes, calling the demon's features to mind. Not only did he focus on the human ones but the monster he had seen glimpses of beneath that face.

For a moment it felt as if he were being torn apart. The world rippled around him and the smell of sulfur made his stomach twist uncomfortably. He landed on stainless steel flooring with a clang, two demons staring at him with startled eyes. Sam took the first one down was desperate ease, putting his lips to its throat and drinking. The second one ran but he didn't care. The demon blood was rushing through his system, easing the pain of his forced travel and sending fresh strength to his exhausted limbs. When footsteps approached, lazy and confidant, he was ready.

He stood with a grin, wiping the blood the stained his mouth and chin off with the back of his hand, and faced the demon he had seen in the chalice. "So nice to see you again, Sam Winchester," she purred easily. "What a pleasure to finally meet you in person."

"I could not say the same," Sam replied icily, narrowing his eyes. It was a simple matter, with the demon blood coursing through his veins like fire, to drag what information he wanted out before focusing tar black eyes on the demon's suddenly nervous demon. "Thank you for telling me what I needed to know, _Casey_ ," he sneered at her before extinguishing her with a thought. It'd been a long time since he'd felt this confidant and powerful. He made his way easily through the ship, extinguishing any demons that got too close to him or attempted to stop him. Some part of him, deep inside, screamed and sobbed but he ignored it. Kyra was near and this close to his goal he could not afford to falter.

Kyra was unharmed, crouched in the center of her cell with a homemade shiv in hand. Sam felt the ice begin to slip away from his heart the instant he saw her and attempted to stumble towards her only to have her jolt back with a snarl, blade rising toward his throat. "Get out of him," she demanded sharply, eyes blazing with fury. "Get out of Sam. Leave him alone!" Sam felt his stomach sink to his floor as if it were filled with lead. Kyra could finally see the monster he was and he didn't blame her for her horror. It was a simple matter of dodging her shiv, she was weak from three days without proper food or water, and sending her back to Riddick with a touch. Then he sank to the floor of Kyra's prison and wept.

* * *

_Kyra was the first family he'd chosen to have since the brutal deaths of his father and brother. She was the only family he wanted now. The only family he needed. He couldn't afford to let her down, even if it cost him his humanity._


End file.
